Saturday, September 26, 2009

Girija, Prachanda meeting Sunday

Kathmandu, 27 Sept: Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala said he’ll hold discussions with Chairman Prachanda in the capital later Sunday.Koirala told this to reporters said before flying back to the capital from this hometown Biratnagar.The former prime minister said there’s no alternative to an understanding to end the stalemate.The meeting is being held amid Maoist prediction of an end to a four-month political impasse even while threatening to launch a decisive third people’s movement from the Valley.Nnnn

PM Nepal hooted at Columbia University

Kathmandu, 27 Sept: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal was hooted by listeners at Columbia University this week where he addressed a gathering, according to mysansar.com.He was the university’s guest speaker on Nepal issues.Nepal walked out and didn’t attend a question and answer session.nnnn

Former NRB governor reveals murky situation in central bank

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 27 Sept: Former Nepal Rashtra Bank (NRB) Acting Governor Dipendra Bahadur Chetri has revealed a murky and possible corrupt malpractice in the central bank He said the first massive currency note shortage during the festive season could be the result of corrupt and deliberate malpractice by officials of the central bank.Chetri said in a television interview such officials may have placed piecemeal and inadequate orders to printers abroad for currency notes to gain foreign trips to inspect quality of notes being printed.Officials could gain repeated foreign trips for inspection by ordering inadequate supplies, he said.Another reason for the shortage, he said, could be because of inaccurate assessment of demand.He also blamed the government for not authorizing him to order printing of new notes when he was acting governor; he said only the government was empowered to issue such a directive.Chetri was acting governor when the supreme court was considering a malpractice charge against Bijayanath Bhattarai who has now been reinstated government after being cleared. Banks, with the authorization of the central bank, are illegally supplying Indian currency through outlets to meet the unprecedented shortage.One former NRB official said frequent changes in security printing presses are also responsible the short during the festive season.NRB has flooded the market with withdrawn defective notes with portrait of ousted King Gyanendra to meet the crisis even as a republic has been declared.The central bank, through an illegal act, defaced Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes by printing red rhododendrons over the watermark with the crown.Defacing currency notes is illegal and is a punishable crime.Central bank has been involved in at least two crimes.Nnnn